


The Christmas Gift

by hermitpanda



Series: Coffee & Pie [24]
Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Christmas Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-29
Updated: 2016-11-29
Packaged: 2018-09-03 02:28:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8692831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hermitpanda/pseuds/hermitpanda
Summary: "I don’t know what’s up with the team. They heard me call Jess, and I said that I was coming here to be with you.”
“Neither of which are normal Hotch behavior on a case. They know something’s up.”





	

**Author's Note:**

> I know that this is so not how the process works, but it makes for a good story. Or at least I feel it does. I'm going to have to cut back on writing for the next few weeks because I can't crochet Christmas presents and write at the same time. I'm going to aim for a weekend post on Saturday or Sunday for sure and hopefully a mid-week Wednesday post as well. Enjoy :D  
> ~* HermitPanda *~
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or the show. Just borrowing them.

Hotch knelt by the last woman taken by Dorren, the latest Unsub the BAU was tasked with finding. Like the others, she was a prostitute kidnapped off the street. Unlike the others, she still had a pulse when they had found her. She had nearly been trampled by the LEOs and agents storming the small house in search of Dorren. “Let’s get some medical in here!” he called out.

 

The woman’s eyes dragged open and tried to focus on him. “It’s okay. We’re going to get you help. I’m FBI.” He ran his eyes over her assessing the injuries. He honestly didn’t think she would make it through the rest of the night but telling her that probably wouldn’t help give her any peace.

 

She reached a blood-smeared hand up and touched the delicate chain around her neck. “My daughter … She hid …” Her voice was hoarse from hours of screaming at Dorren’s hands.

 

“Daughter? Is she hidden here?” Hotch flicked open the locket and studied the picture of a small girl.

 

The woman’s eyes drifted closed, and she nodded as the EMTs shuffled Hotch out of the way so they could get to her. He strode outside to where Morgan, Prentiss, and Rossi were waiting for him. “There’s a daughter. She said she was hidden here. The picture in the locket looks like she’s about four. Start searching. Prentiss, call Reid and get him here. He’s the best at finding hidey holes.” She pulled out her phone to make the call, and the trio of men hurried back into the house to find the missing child.

 

“I got nothing, Hotch.” Morgan sighed in defeat. “There’s no sign that there was a child here at all.”

 

Rossi nodded in agreement. “I don’t even see any possible hidey holes either.”

 

“Because you think like an adult.” Reid hurried into the room, eyes already searching for potential hiding places. “What exactly do you know about this girl?”

 

“The woman said she had a daughter that hid. When I asked if she was here, she nodded, but she’s in so much pain, I don’t know if that’s solid information. She had a picture in a locket. The girl looked about four, maybe five. Red hair. I don’t know her name. What do you need us to do?” Hotch drew the younger agent’s gaze to him.

 

Reid worried the wedding band on his finger. “Get out. I might be able to hear her if there’s not all these cops and agents stomping around. She’s probably terrified and trying to stay hidden because she doesn’t know if we’re here to help. One person stay to provide cover, in case I find Dorren instead.” 

 

Hotch nodded. “I’ll do it. I saw the picture, so I’ll know if it’s the same girl or if we’re dealing with something bigger here.” 

 

“He kept the women in this room?” Reid looked around what should have been the living room.

 

“Here and the cellar off the kitchen.” The Unit Chief followed him through the lower level of the house. He silently followed him up the stairs.

 

Reid looked into the first room, studying the features. Where the dormer windows were placed. The location of the closet. There was no furniture to provide shelter for a small child. He moved to the next room. It was nearly the twin to the first room. Nearly. “The window,” he whispered to himself and hurried back to the first room. He dropped to his knees in front of the small window. The windows in this room had small built-in benches below that the other room didn’t have. He carefully felt around the edges of the molding rectangle decorating the bench. The panel slid a fraction. He heard Hotch draw closer to him before he forced the panel open completely.

 

The girl was laying on the bare floor of the compartment, curled on her side. Her red hair was falling across her face. “Sweetheart?” Reid asked, using the same soft tone he used with Jack when he was sick. The girl started and tried to shrink further into the compartment. “My name’s Spencer. I’m here to help you. Do you want to come out?” He held out his hand, palm up. He registered Hotch quietly radioing the rest of the team behind him, but focused on the child in front of him.

 

“Are you a cop?” She eyed him.

 

“I’m FBI. I work with the cops on special cases. Are you cold?” He reached his other hand behind him blindly. Hotch took off his own coat and placed it in Reid’s hand.

  
She nodded and inched closer to him. “My mommy was downstairs. The man hurt her.”

 

Reid nodded and carefully bundled her in the coat. “We took her to the hospital so doctors could help her. Did the man hurt you?”

 

“My arms.” She shrugged off the coat and showed the two men the bruises on her upper arms.

 

“I’m sorry. What’s your name?” Reid pulled the coat back up around her.

 

“Ali.” She shuffled closer to him and leaned against his knees.

 

He gently scooped her up and cradled her against his chest. A smile flitted across his lips when she turned her face into Hotch’s coat and breathed deep. It was the same move Jack made trying to comfort himself with his father’s scent. Reid himself did it when he needed his husband to soothe him. “We’ll take you to the hospital so a doctor can check you.”

 

Hotch hooked a hand under Reid’s arm and pulled him to his feet. The cold weather and kneeling would cause the younger agent’s knee to stiffen and ache. “Someone will meet you at the hospital with some clothes for her,” he said softly as they made their way to the stairs. Reid nodded in acknowledgment.

 

“I want to see mommy.” The girl whimpered.

 

“I know, Sweetheart. Maybe you can after a doctor looks at you. What’s your mommy’s name?” He started descending the stairs carefully.

 

“Sara.”

 

“Keep your face hidden until we get outside, okay?” He rubbed her back. When she nodded and pressed her face into the crook of his neck, he stepped off the stairs and hustled through the living room to the front porch. He could feel her hot tears on his skin as he crossed to the waiting ambulance.

 

Hotch followed him, showing no signs that the freezing wind was bothering him. “Reid, go with her to the hospital. Stay with her until we find Dorren. I’ll send someone for her mother also.” 

 

He nodded, understanding what Hotch was leaving unsaid. The girl and her mother were to remain under guard until they caught the serial killer. Until he was caught, it was always a possibility that he would try to get to them in the hospital and finish what he had started. “Keep me updated with what’s going on.”

 

“Will do.” Hotch closed the ambulance door.

 

Reid settled on the gurney with Ali on his lap. “We’ll wait for vitals till we get to the hospital,” the ambulance tech said. 

 

The agent nodded. “Are you comfortable, Sweetie?” He asked the girl softly. She nodded and snuggled into his embrace. He held her for the rest of the ride and carried her into the emergency room. He set Ali down on the hospital bed. “The doctor is just going to make sure you’re okay. I’ll be right over here, Ali. I’m not going anywhere.” The girl nodded, and he moved to the other side of the room so he wasn’t in the doctor’s way.

 

“She’s malnourished and dehydrated, but not so severely that I’m going to admit her. I want you to see to it that she eats and drinks. The bruises should go away in a couple weeks. She’s in pretty good health so I’m going to release her to you,” the doctor explained softly.

 

Reid nodded. “Thank you, Doctor.”

 

She nodded. “Bye Ali. Be good for Doctor Reid.”

 

“You’re a doctor? Why aren’t you my doctor?” Ali watched him.

 

“I’m not that type of doctor. I learn a lot about things and become a doctor that way.” He picked her up to take her to take her to the cafeteria.

 

She laid her head on his shoulder automatically. “Like what?”

 

“Math, chemistry, engineering. I just got child psychology and education. Are you hungry?”

 

She nodded. “I don’t know what those are. I know math but not the others.”

 

Spencer considered how to explain his degrees to the girl. “Chemistry is mixing two things together to get something else, and engineering is sort of like building things. Child psychology is knowing how your little brain works. Education is teaching.” He shifted her in his arms.

 

“Who do you teach?”

 

“No one really. I guess I got it so I could help my son with his homework.” He spotted Jessica and Jack crossing the hospital foyer with a large shopping bag. “Want to meet my son? And his aunt?”

 

“Okay,” she nodded.

 

He crossed to the pair. “Hey, Papa! Dad called us.”

 

“Aaron requested that I bring some clothes for a five-year-old girl to you here.” Jess patted her purse, sending the silent message that he’d also requested that she bring her own gun with her.

 

Spencer was unsure what Hotch was thinking sending his sister-in-law to help him protect the witness of a case. Yes, Jessica was a good shot and had a concealed carry permit. Except she wasn’t law enforcement, and she came with the added baggage of having Jack with her. Unless, he was hoping that Jack would provide a distraction for the girl from the real world problems surrounding her. “Ali, this is my son Jack and his Aunt Jessica. This is Ali. Can you go with Jess and change clothes?”

 

Ali nodded and let Jessica take her from Spencer’s arms. They disappeared into the women’s restroom. “She looks sad,” Jack stated.

 

Spencer nodded. “She probably is. Her mom was hurt really bad by the Unsub on our case.”

 

Jack looked up at him. “Is she going to die?”

 

“We don’t know, yet. After I get Ali some dinner, we’ll see if she can visit her mom. Did you eat dinner already or do I have to feed you too?” He stroked the boy’s hair.

 

Jack nodded. “We had tacos.”

 

Jessica and Ali came out of the bathroom. “She wants to keep the coat on. She changed clothes underneath it, though,” the woman explained when Spencer raised a brow at the FBI coat Ali was still wearing.

 

“Okay. It’s Aaron’s anyways. Let’s go get you some dinner.” Spencer picked the girl up. The foursome made their way to the cafeteria. Spencer frowned at the hospital choices. He had no problem with the options really. They just seemed to be rather fast food-like for a hospital.

 

“S’getti,” she said following him through the line. He led her to the table where Jessica and Jack were waiting and helped her into a chair. He chatted with Jack about his school day and homework while Ali ate her spaghetti. “Can we go see my mommy now?” She looked at them expectantly.

 

“We’ll find out.” He smoothed her hair away from her face and picked her up again. He went to the information desk and after flashing his badge was directed to the surgery waiting room on the third floor. Jack and Ali settled at a coffee table with some coloring books under Jessica’s watchful eye while he talked with Sara’s doctor.

 

“We did what we could, but she’s probably not going to make it through the night. We’ll move her to a room soon, and then you can let her daughter visit her. A nurse will come get you,” the doctor said solemnly.

 

Spencer nodded. “Thank you.” He turned towards Jessica and the kids when he caught sight of Hotch stepping off the elevator. He crossed the waiting room to his husband. “Is it over?”

 

“Over. Suicide by cop.” He nodded and swept his gaze over the room, settling on Jack and Ali.

 

“Who?” Reid wanted to reach to twine their fingers together but he knew that they had to get the business out of the way before they moved on to the personal.

 

“Will actually. What’s the update here?”

 

The younger man recapped everything that had happened. “We’re just waiting now for a nurse to come tell us I can take Ali in to see her mom.”

 

Hotch nodded. “Good.” He leaned in and kissed the younger man. “Hi.”

 

“Hello Aaron,” Spencer laughed and tugged him in for a hug. They went over to the others and settled in to wait.

 

Emily and JJ stepped off the elevator. “Hi, everyone is going to come hang out for a while. To be here for Ali.” JJ sat next to Spencer on the couch. Over the next hour, the rest of the team including Penelope arrived.

 

Ali had moved onto Aaron’s lap by the time a nurse came to get them. “She’s in and out of consciousness, but she’s asking for her daughter.”

 

“Will you come with me?” Ali looked up at Aaron pleading.

 

“Of course.” He stood up with her in his arms.

 

“And Spencer?” She looked at him.

 

He nodded. “I’ll come too.” They followed the nurse to the injured woman’s room. 

 

Aaron set Ali down on the edge of the bed. “Don’t hug your Mommy too tight. It might hurt her.” The girl nodded and carefully hugged her. She laid her head on Sara’s shoulder and cried. The two men looked at each other with twin expressions of misery.

 

Spencer pulled Aaron to the side of the room for a whispered conversation. “Why did you have Jess and Jack come earlier?”

 

“I knew you needed backup to watch Ali. Who better than Jack to distract and empathize with her? I trust Jess with Jack, so of course I trust her with a witness.” He glanced over and sighed. “Plus, don’t you think there’s something different about Ali?”

 

“Aaron,” he sighed. “We can’t just pick some random child from a case. There are steps. We’ve applied at the agency. Now we just have to wait for them to approve it, then we can move onto the selection process.”

 

Aaron let his head fall back. “I know. I don’t know what’s up with the team. They heard me call Jess, and I said that I was coming here to be with you.”

 

“Neither of which are normal Hotch behavior on a case. They know something’s up.” Spencer rubbed the older man’s back. “I’m going to try to distract Ali for a while.” He went over and smoothed the girl’s hair back from her face. “Do you like looking at stars?”

 

She nodded. “I know Ryan.”

 

“Orion? That’s one I don’t know. Can you come show me?” He asked. He picked the girl up and carried her to the window.

 

Aaron moved to sit in the chair by the hospital bed. “Shhhh, it’s okay. You’re safe.” He leaned forward when Sara started to stir.

 

“Ali?” 

 

“Over there. Looking at stars with my husband. He’s another agent.” He pointed.

 

The woman reached for his hand. “No foster care.” Tears welled in her eyes.

 

“I’m sorry. I wish I could do something to keep her out of foster care, but short of adopting her, I just don’t see any way to do it. We don’t have time for an adoption,” he said watching his husband and the little girl.

 

“Please?” she squeezed his hand.

 

He blew out a breath. “Let me talk to my husband and son. I can’t make any promises.” 

 

She nodded. “Want Ali.”

 

He went over to Spencer. “Your mom’s awake, Sweetheart.” He took Ali and placed her on the bed before returning to the other man. “She doesn’t want her to go to foster care. We should do this, Spencer.”

 

“How? We can’t just keep her. What are you going to do? Call CPS and demand that they make her ours? I’d love to keep her too. She’s a great kid. She gets along with Jack. She likes Jess. She feels safe with us. But that doesn’t mean we can just make her our daughter.” Spencer sighed. He knew what his husband was feeling. There was something different about Ali from any other child that they came into contact with. None the kids they had met with through the adoption agency had brought out the same feelings.

 

“We could do an independent adoption. We’re just short on time.”

 

Spencer made a noise in the back of his throat, and Aaron knew that he had the man’s agreement. “We can’t do anything without talking to Jack and Jess. And Ali. They all need a say in this,” the younger man said.

 

“I’ll go get Jack and Jess.” Aaron squeezed Spencer’s arm and slipped out of the room. He went to the waiting room. “We need to talk, as a family,” he murmured to Jessica. She nodded and stood up with Jack.

 

“What’s going on Hotch?” Morgan asked.

 

“Sara’s holding on. For now. We’re having an impromptu family meeting,” Hotch explained.

 

Everyone looked at him. “Will the family be expanding?” Dave finally asked.

 

“Hopefully, if everyone agrees. It can be done, but time is an issue.” He shrugged helplessly.

 

“Between the rest of us, we’ve probably got the connections to get something going and I’ll grease the wheels if I have to. Send me a text when you make your decision one way or the other,” Dave said prompting nods from the rest of the team, most of them already pulling out their cell phones. He gently clapped him on the shoulder and turned him towards Jack and Jessica.

 

The trio went to Sara’s room and slipped inside. Spencer introduced the newcomers to Sara. “Jess lives with us and takes care of Jack when we have to travel. This is our family,” the young man explained. “Ali, if your mom doesn’t get better, would you like to join our family?” Jack’s face broke into a grin at the realization about what was happening.

 

She looked at them thoughtfully. “Okay,” she nodded. Jack moved closer to the hospital bed and reached out a hand to her. She smiled and linked their hands together before laying her head on her mother’s shoulder again. 

 

“You’re sure you want this?” Aaron asked Sara. She nodded and closed her eyes, listening to the soothing chatter of the two children. He turned to Spencer and Jessica. “Dave said he and the team would work on it. I’m not sure how much they will actually accomplish.”

 

“They’d move mountains for you two. I’ll go let them know that the decision’s been made and see how I can help them.” Jessica gave each of them a hug. She went over to the woman in the hospital bed and murmured softly to her for a moment before leaving the room. 

 

Aaron watched Spencer take a deep breath and followed him to the window. “You’re okay with this?”

 

“Yes, I want her too. It’s just fast, and I’m worried. I don’t want to get attached, or for you or Jack, or even Ali to get attached and then have some judge or some CPS worker or some government bureaucrat to yank the rug out from under us and leave everyone heartbroken.” Spencer leaned into his husband.

 

“Hopefully, one of them thinks to get in touch with a family law lawyer. I believe that she could give us temporary guardianship and then the adoption papers, but I’m not completely certain. I’ve been brushing up on adoption laws, but not like this. I was focusing on adoptions through agencies.” The older man hugged the younger one tight.

 

Spencer chuckled softly. “I don’t think either of us planned to find our next child this way.”

 

“No, and I wish I could spare both of them from this pain.”

 

“I know. Me too,” Spencer sighed.

 

It was just after midnight when Dave knocked lightly on the door and stepped inside. Spencer was sitting in the chair beside the bed with Ali asleep on his chest while Aaron was standing at the window with Jack’s head resting on his shoulder. “We did it. There’s an adoption lawyer out in the hall with two forests worth of paperwork, and a judge is on his way to oversee the entire thing.”

 

“What did you have to do?” Aaron stared at him.

 

“Nothing illegal.” Dave glanced at his watch. “It’s now Christmas Eve. Consider it your Christmas present from the team.”

 

“Best Christmas present ever. Thank you,” Spencer stroked Ali’s hair.

 

He nodded. “Of course, let’s get this show on the road so we can give Sara some much-needed peace and get you two home for your first Christmas with your new daughter.” Both men nodded eagerly and smiled when the adoption lawyer the team had found entered the room.


End file.
